This is my writing corner of the world to show off my experiment and try marketing ideas.

Main menu

Monthly Archives: January 2014

Post navigation

I have been puzzling over Peerage in this story. On the one hand, I know how I want it to work. But on the other hand, I am doing research to see how it works in other countries. It is my story and I can actually make it work however I choose, but I don’t want to confuse my reader by being similar to current standards while breaking half the rules.

This has been very interesting research. I knew that as an American I really didn’t understand the peerage outside of queens and kings, man oh man was I right. I thought most to all of the titles followed birth lines, but that is the opposite of how it really works. I also knew that there were ties to land ownership but I wasn’t sure how these came to be.

I am happy to report that what I wanted to do with the peerage in my story is actually closer to reality than I ever imagined. So, I can now go full steam ahead with my ideas in this area knowing that any confusion will be because others are also uneducated in this area and that I need to make sure an explanation is woven into the story in a meaningful way.

Wayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accident lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into his colleagues disappearance turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he make contact with his family in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what’s the purpose of the electrified fences encircling the town? Are they keeping the residents in? Or something else out? Each step toward the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face the horrifying possibility that he may never leave Wayward Pines alive?

This book was so captivating that it did not make a good bedtime read because I kept resetting the sleep timer so I could continue. The storyline was filled with ups and downs and each time I thought I was seeing where it was going, it would change directions. At one point, I thought “this is just as intriguing as the television series Twin Peaks.” To my pleasant surprise, so did the author when he talked about the qualities of the book in comparison.

The language literally brought the setting to life. One scene was so vivid and creepy that I couldn’t even pretend to try to go to sleep while listening to it. Blake stayed away from flowery descriptions but he made you feel like you were in the story. Your heart raced, you felt dizzy, you struggled to understand what was going on, and you wanted a safe place to be able to relax.

I have to say that I never say the ending coming, couldn’t even imagine it. Things were getting a little fishy at one point, but man this was a hum dinger. And Blake made it believable!